Crumbling
by Deaths-Radiant-Flower
Summary: Where in Naruto is stronger and more analytical plus smarter. He was taken in by the ANBU at the age of 12, having already been a exceptional Shinobi at the time, and was taught to become an even greater one. He goes by the name Kitsune. Of course being in the ANBU changes him. Is that a good change? Or bad? Yaoi! Gaanaru! Sasusaku! You've been warned. RnR!
1. Burning Bones

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... I have said this many times in my other stories. I will only be putting this in here once. **

**Warning: well... Obviously there will be yaoi, so if that isn't your cup of tea, then don't read. **

**Pairings: Gaanaru, Sasusaku, Shikatem, Inosai, Shinohina, Kankukiba and so on.**

**Rating: M because of certain things that will go on, and sexual themes. **

**Summary: Where in Naruto is stronger, more ****analytical****. He was taken in by the ANBU at the age of 12, having already been a exceptional Shinobi at the time, and was taught to become an even greater one. He goes by the name Kitsune, wearing the mask that resembles a fennec fox to match. Of course being in the ANBU changes him. Is that a good change? Or bad? Carry on reading and you'll find out. **

**A/N: well, I don't want to drag this on any further so let me just say something. The first two or three chapters will be about Naruto's life before he became part of the ANBU. I will writing about some of the jutsu's he'll be learning by his sensei, and he will have some awesome abilities... So yeah, read on. **

**Crumbling**

**Chapter 1: Burning Bones**

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><p>"Oh... Its that kid again. Rei, stay away from him. He's bad news" the sound of a mother speaking to her child reached Naruto's ears. He knew they were talking about him. They always did.<p>

"Why mummy?" He heard the small kid ask. Naruto tried to hear what the mother would say to her child. What would they say this time? What name would he be called today?

"He's a little demon. Don't play with him"

See's today is just like any other day. He would sit here on this swing. All lonely. Listening to the horrible words the adults would say about him. He had somehow gotten used to it but with each word came a stab to his heart. He didn't know why they hated him and he found it unjust that they treated him like they did for reasons unknown to him.

At least if he knew what was wrong with him he'd have been able to accept their treatment. But he didn't, and it was starting to get to him.

Not that he'd show them that it was. It only make them feel better about themselves. Make them enjoy his suffering more.

He was only eight and his thoughts were like this. Best to not think about it and just move on. Put on a happy smile and walk away, un bothered by their hateful stares.

He couldn't hide from the truth forever though. Those stares were painful and they were tearing at him.

Hopping down from the large swing, Naruto looks at the mother and child, smile on his face. It was a small boy that had spoken to his mom, the boy didn't seem to bothered by Naruto as he smiled back. The mom on the other hand had a look of pure disgust on her face.

Naruto waved at them and was delighted when the small boy waved back. Naruto grinned before putting his hands in his pockets and walking away.

Naruto had always had good hearing but the further he walked away the harder it got to hear what the mother would say. He did get a few pieces though.

"Reason... Father... Dead...him" it was a vague thing but he shrugged his shoulders and walked further out of the small park and towards his apartment.

He took alley ways to get there. He could easily just walk through the shopping district but he knew what awaited him there. Cold, disgusted stares. He wasn't really in the mood for them today.

But taking the alley could prove to be bad as well... He could get beaten by an adult or the older kids... It wasn't something that hadn't happened before. He got beaten up a lot of times. And in a way he got used to that as well.

It was a sad reality that he lived but he couldn't do much about it. He was hated and he would just have to deal with that.

One day though. One day he will gain the respect of the village. He'll make them look at him with admiration and fondness. They'll see.

Naruto was so engulfed in his thoughts he didn't notice the group of people in front of him and accidentally bumped into one of the large men. He fell on his butt, immediately lifting his hand up to rub at his head. Whoever he had bumped into was a pretty big guy.

"Ow..." He mumbled out before looking up to see three sets of blazing eyes looking at me. The blonde gulped out and quickly stood up. "I'm s-sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking" he apologised as he looked up at the three scary men.

"Its alright" one of them said, a dirty smirk on his face. "We'll just have to make sure that you never do it again" he said as he nodded at the two men next to him.

"Get him." He ordered and one of the men grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, tightly. The blonde tried to squirm out of the mans hold but he was too strong.

"So. You're the demon brat. I've never seen you upfront before. You're cute for a little monster" he said as he bent down to come face to face with Naruto.

The blonde spat in his face. The mans face contorted into an ugly snarl and Naruto knew for a fact that he was going to regret that.

"You shouldn't have done that" the man said. 'I think I already know that' naruto thought in his head before he was punched in the face. His head bobbed backwards and he swore he heard a crunch.

The man holding him down tightened his grip as more hits descended on his body, pain shooting everywhere. He could tell that a knife had been added, or some type of blade. He could feel the cold metal slicing at his skin, making his body tremble.

Everything got too much and eventually he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>When the blonde had finally woken up, it was dark. Well he thought it was dark. He couldn't really see much with his vision being temporarily impaired. Naruto blinked his eyes a couple of times, hoping it would help.<p>

His body ached, every single part of it. This was probably one of the most brutal beatings he had ever gotten. He knew that his nose was probably broken, and that he had cuts in various places. He could feel them stinging as the cold air brushed against his naked form.

The blonde paused. Naked? Was he naked?

He looked down at his body to find that he indeed was wearing absolutely no clothes.

Why was that?

'Maybe they took them off so that they could cut me up in different places' the blonde thought to himself as he searched out his clothes. They weren't that far from him, maybe five foot steps away.

Naruto slowly got up, wincing at the immense pain that he felt in his nether regions. What had they done to him? He seriously hurt and he was amazed that he was able to push himself to get his clothes.

He looked down at his body and saw blood dry blood down his legs. 'Maybe that's just because they cut in the wrong place' he thought to himself as tears started welling up in his eyes from the pain and the stone cold truth of what had really happened.

He remembered. He woke up a couple of times while it happened. He didn't know what they had been doing, but he knew it was wrong.

The tears started running down his cheeks, mixing with blood, dirt and sweat.

They had touched him in places they shouldn't have. They had put something in him... In his butt. It was painful. He remembered feeling like something was tearing him into tiny little pieces.

And as soon as that thing had entered it started moving painfully fast, in and out, in and out.

It hurt. It hurt so badly.

'It... I was seeing things' Naruto thought, trying to deny the truth.

'It was... Nothing... They hadn't...' He couldn't even finish that train of thought as a shock of pain from his backside made him cry out. The sound echoed through the alley he was in.

Nobody heard him though.

They'd never hear him, nor would they come and save him.

He was all alone.

* * *

><p>When the blonde had got home he immediately took a bath to wash away the filthy ness. He was careful with his body though, not wanting to upset any of the wounds he had.<p>

He was extra careful with his lower half. That place generated the most pain and one slip and he'd cry out.

After his bath he had tended to his wounds, put on bandages and healing cream before he put on his ramen Pyjamas and went to his room.

He couldn't really sleep so he just laid there on his bed, staring up at his bare ceiling.

His body was healing. He knew that it wouldn't take long since he always healed fast. He also knew that he should have gone to the hospital to tend to his wounds instead of doing it himself, but he felt embarrassed. He didn't want to go there. He hated hospitals anyway.

Naruto turned to his side and faced his window. It was storming outside.

He sat up slowly, wincing slightly at the pain that followed.

He hadn't eaten yet. Maybe a nice hot meal would make him feel a little better.

But he didn't actually feel hungry. And if he ate now he'd probably throw all the food up and he was not going to waste his precious ramen cups.

He laid back down and decided he'd just give sleep a try.

After a few minutes he finally let himself fade into the world of dreams, the place where he could be what he wanted, and have other people treat him like he wanted.

* * *

><p>The next day Naruto felt a lot better. His body still hurt but the feeling was something he could handle this time. Today he was going to try an communicate with a ninja. He knew they'd probably shoo him away but he was going to try and get their attention.<p>

Why?

Because he was fed up with not being able to look after and defend for himself. He would find a ninja and demand them to train him.

Well... It was already mid afternoon and he was still trying to find that person. He was right, they just shoo'd him away yelling things like "get lost!" And "why would I help a monster like you!"

He eventually just left them and decided he'd just take a walk along the lake. While he was there he saw a small little boy sitting on one of the docks. He had raven coloured hair and seemed to be glaring at the water.

Naruto considered going up to the boy but when said boy looked his way he was greeted with a piercing stare.

He just carried on walking, thinking about people that he could ask to train him.

While walking he saw old man third standing near a cherry blossom tree, pipe in hand.

A grin made its way on the blondes face.

He could ask the third hokage!

He felt stupid for not thinking about it earlier. The hokage was like a grandfather to him, so he hoped the old man would help him

"Naruto, shouldn't you be heading home now, its getting late" the old man said as Naruto walked up to him.

"Well... I don't have a mom and dad so I don't have a specific time to be out until..." Naruto said as he looked down at his feet before looking up again, a smile on his face.

"Old man, please train me!" He blurted out and the mans face lit up in surprise. He had certainly not expected Naruto to ask him that.

"Why? You are still so young" the man said and Naruto shook his head. "Please... I want to learn... I want to become a great shinobi... Just like you!" He shouted and the old man smiled sadly at him.

"Naruto, I cannot train you. I have my duties as the Hokage and I just won't be able to find the time to train you... Plus you are still so young..." He said and Naruto's smile faded.

"You need to teach me! If you don't it will happen again!" He shouted as tears welled up in his eyes. "It doesn't matter if I'm young! You can learn to be a great Shinobi at any age! And I want to learn now. Please... If I don't... It will happen again..." His voice broke at the end and th old man stared at the blonde.

"Naruto. What will happen again?" He asked and the blonde sniffed. "Please... I'm begging you..." He sniffed again.

"Naruto. Tell me what will happen again" the old man said, his voice stern. The blonde looked up at the man, his eyes glossy and his cheeks stain streaked he took in a deep breath before telling the hokage about what had happened the day before.

"Please... Please train me... If that happens again... Please... Let me learn, I promise that I'll devote myself to it... Please" the blonde begged when he finished his story.

The old man sighed out.

"I still cannot train you... But I know someone who would be a perfect mentor for you. Someone that has even trained the fourth Hokage. Someone that I trained myself" the man said and Naruto smiled.

"Thank you! Thank you!" He said as tears of pure joy streamed down while he jumped up and hugged the old man.

"Thanks old man! You won't regret it!" Naruto said.

"I hope so"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Done. Please review. I need them reviews. They motivate the shit out of me.<strong>_

_**That sounds kinda gross. **_

_**They motivate me to write ! There that sounds better! **_

_**Okay so you guys probably guessed that his sensei will be Jiraiya. This story doesn't fit with the actual Naruto storyline but it will have some things from it. Like the Chuunin exams and stuff. The Akatsuki will be in here as well! Cause I love them! Not what they do but yeah... Stealing poor little bijuu's is wrong! **_

_**Anyway. Again please review and pet lots of potatoes! **_

_**Bye! **_


	2. Small Steps

_**A/N: well, I wanna thank those that had reviewed and favourited. Oh, let's not forget those that followed! Hmm, so I decided that I'd take a mini break from my other stories and focus on this one. School is starting up and I won't have enough time to update all of them. But I have wanted to write a story that actually involves ninja's for a while. All my stories are in the 'modern world'**_

_** There will be a few time skips in a few of the chapters. I don't want to spend too much chapters an Naruto's life before ANBU. He's eight so far so there will be a time skip of two years in each chapter. That time skip will only come later since it will be four years before he is 12. There will only be two more chapters of him before ANBU. And then there will be a time skip of four years. Then we can get started with this story! Anyway! On we go! **_

_**Crumbling**_

_**Chapter 2: Small Steps**_

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><p>"Is this the man you were talking about?" Naruto said, a look of disbelief on his face.<p>

"Yes. This is Jiraiya, one of the-." Lord Third started but was interrupted by the man standing next to him.

"I am, Jiraiya, the epitome of manliness! I shall fall for no woman's wiles! When you're me, you only need to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet!" The man said. Well it was more like he shouted it.

Naruto sweat dropped.

"You want this old pervert to train me?" The small blonde asked and the oldest of them sighed out, bringing his hands up to massage at his temples. "Na-." Again, the poor man was interrupted.

"Look here you little brat! I am not a pervert! You're just jealous cuz a little twerp like you can't be awesome like me."

"Like I'd wanna be like you, gramps! As if I'd be jealous of someone as old as you! Not to mention you're a pervert!" Naruto shot back as he glared up at the man. The look did nothing.

He was only eight years old and his features will still soft and cute. Not even the dirtiest of looks could spoil the cuteness.

"Listen. Naruto, this is Jiraiya, one of the Leaf Sannin... Since he was trained by me and then in turn trained the Forth I thought it be a good idea to allow him to train him" Sarutobi said with a heavy sigh as he stood up from his seat.

"You asked for help in training and I got you your help. Jiraiya will be leaving for a trip and you'll be going with him. Go home and pack all the essentials." The old man sighed out.

Naruto pouted but nodded his head and left the two adults alone in the room.

"Sensei... If I'm going to be training him... I'll have to tell him the truth... I can't risk something bad happening." Jiraiya said after a moments silence.

"I knew the boy would have to be told the truth if he was going to be trained at such an age. That's the reason why I picked you to train him. I know for a fact that Minato and Kushina would have wanted you to..."

Jiraiya smiled solemnly up at his old mentor. "Well... I just wanted your permission. You had banded anyone from speaking of the incident" Jiraiya said, that solemn smile still on his face.

"Permission granted. Now off you go. You're going to have a long journey." Lord third said with a smirk.

"Uh... What is there to expect from Naruto?" Jiraiya asked. Sarutobi chuckled out. "He's only eight. You have nothing to fear" he said with a smile.

"I don't like that smile of yours... Its definitely evil" Jiraiya said as he slowly walked away from his old mentor, a suspicious look on his face.

"Ahaha! Don't worry! You won't have any trouble with little Naruto. Now go. I have work to do"

* * *

><p>"Jiraiya-sensei... When are we going to stop? I'm tired" came the nagging voice of Naruto. They had been walking for at least four hours straight and Naruto's little legs were starting to give up on him.<p>

"Naruto, ninja's can walk for longer. If you want to become one you need to endure... Not whine" Jiraiya said causing Naruto to glare at him. "I'm only eight... I'm not a proper ninja... I don't even know how to use chakra... Please can we rest... I'm sure that gramps told you about what happened..." Naruto begged.

"Sarutobi-sensei hadn't told me anything about you" Jiraiya admitted and Naruto sighed out before hanging his head.

"Naruto... Its only a days walk... Its not that far, I promise" Jiraiya said and Naruto sighed.

"Just think of this as a minor step to becoming a great shinobi" the man said with a smile. Naruto looked up at him. "Fine...but then when we get to this place I want to start training immediately" the blonde said.

Jiraiya was slightly caught off guard at the determination in those blue eye's. It reminded him of himself when he was younger. Always determined.

"Absolutely!"

* * *

><p>Naruto was tired. Absolutely tired. Five hours had already gone past, at least that's what he thought.<p>

The skies were already darkening while stars started to form.

The blondes eyes felt heavy, really heavy. He knew that it was technically too early to even think about sleeping but when you walk for nearly ten hours straight you tend to get extremely exhausted.

Jiraiya didn't seem to be too bothered though. But he was a lot older than Naruto and a ninja...

Naruto sighed out and looked at his feet. He had fallen behind slightly and he looked at his feet as if to command them to walk faster but they seemed to ignore him.

_'I wonder if the brat would like to be ripped into tiny little piece's. _Naruto heard a voice say in his head.

It was that man. The one that had done things he shouldn't have.

'I can't let that happen again. I need to get stronger! I need to endure!' He shouted in his head as he sped up his pace.

If ninja's could do it then so could he! He was going to become one in any case. And like Jiraiya said, this could be thought of as a mini step to being that great ninja and it was a step Naruto would overcome.

Not paying much attention to where he was going the blonde bumped into something and fell onto his butt.

Fear suddenly striked into him as a flashback of the other night played in his head.

"Naruto?" He heard someone call out and without looking who it was the blonde started screaming. "P-please! I swear I'll look where I'm walking! D-don't hurt me!" He shouted as he scurried away.

"Naruto, what are you talking about? Why would I hurt you? Naruto, can you hear me! Naruto!?" The blonde couldn't hear the man. Everything around him was fading. All he could hear and see was those three men. That motion. That horrible, burning motion that tore him up.

Before Naruto knew what was really happening his consciousness faded and his vision went black. The last thing he heard was the sound of a man calling out to him.

"Naruto!"

* * *

><p>When Naruto opened his eyes he felt a horrible sense of deje vu. He was surprised to see a white ceiling above him and he wondered if he was back at his home.<p>

"Naruto?" He heard someone call out his name. He slowly got up into a sitting position and turned to face the owner of the voice.

"Jiraiya-sensei? Where are we?" He asked and the man grinned. "We're at and inn. You passed out from exhaustion and I had to carry you all the way here. You're quite heavy for someone so small..." He said and Naruto looked down at his hands.

He didn't remember passing out... All he remembered was bumping into someone and then he started freaking out.

"Naruto... Last night... What's happened to you? What made you react like you had last night?" Jiraiya asked, his voice sounding serious instead of the playfulness it always sounded like.

Naruto carried on staring at his hands. He figured that he should tell Jiraiya... But a part of him didn't really want to.

"Narut-."

"The other day I was attacked by three men. It was partially my fault for walking into them. They said they'd teach me to look were I'm going and called me a monster... They... Did horrible things to me... Touched me where they shouldn't have... Put things in me... They kicked me, hit me, even cut me... All because I was a stupid idiot for not looking where I was going... All because I'm hated and I don't know why"

His voice had broken at the end and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Jiraiya had fallen silent as he stared at the blonde, eyes wide and mouth slightly a gape.

"T-thats why... That's why I need to learn jutsu... I need to learn how to protect myself... If I don't, something like that could happen again..." The blonde said as he wiped at his tears.

"Jiraiya-sensei? I know that so far I haven't really been a good kid... But from here on out I will focus more and do everything I can to become a ninja... I don't even have to be great... I just need to be good" the small blonde said with a soft smile directed to the older male.

Jiraiya smiled himself. The kid had been through quite a bit through the last few days. He knows how the villagers are, how cruel they are towards this innocent child. He was shocked about them actually going so far as to rape him because of something he didn't do.

"Naruto... Do you know why the villagers hate you?" Jiraiya said, not sugar coating anything. Naruto shook his head. "No..." The blonde said as he looked down at his hands again. "Gramps wouldn't tell me... Neither would anybody else when I asked..." He admitted and Jiraiya sighed.

"Naruto... Do you know about the attack that happened eight years ago? The nine tails rampage?" Jiraiya asked and the blonde shook his head.

"I don't..." He said and Jiraiya felt a heaviness on his shoulders. This kid was kept in the dark for way too long and Jiraiya was the one who now had to take him out of there.

"Naruto... Can you trust me?" Jiraiya asked the small blonde. Naruto looked at the man, contemplating if he did trust him or not.

"If lord third can trust you with me even after what I told him... Then I do trust you" he said and Jiraiya smiled.

"Take off your shirt" he said.

Naruto blinked.

"Eh!? Why do I have to take off my shirt?! I knew you were a pervert! I knew it!" Naruto shouted as he backed away from Jiraiya.

"Look..." The man started, a feeling of irritation having already settled in him. "I want to show you something. I promise that I won't do anything..." He said and Naruto stared at him with weary eyes before sighing and moving forward.

He took off his shirt and crossed his hands over his chest. "There you happy" he said as he glared at the man that would soon be his mentor. "This will probably make me sound like a pervert but yes, yes I am" he said and naruto's glare hardened.

It still didn't do anything to make him look intimidating.

"Okay... Naruto... Do you see that mark there?" Jiraiya asked as he pointed to the blondes belly. Naruto nodded his head as he looked at the mark, slowly tracing it with his index finger.

"I was told that its a birth mark... But I don't believe that... Its black and it always comes and goes (1)" the blonde said.

"Okay... Naruto... What I'm going to tell you now may come as a shock... But please don't over react" he said and Naruto nodded.

"The reason why you have that mark is because the fourth Hokage put it there, its called the eight trigrams seal. Its a seal to suppress the nine tails in you" he said.

Naruto couldn't really understand what the man was talking about. He didn't know what a nine tails was.

"Jiraiya... I don't understand what you're talking about... What's the nine tails?" He asked. Jiraiya sighed and brought his hands up to his temple, massaging it delicately.

"Okay... The nine tails is one of the nine tailed beast. A tailed beast is a beast with a great amount of chakra, they are said to keep the world in check but there is nothing good about these creatures. They are wild and seek destruction.

Each great nation has a tailed beast, some have more than one even. Konoha was the bearer of the nine tailed fox. The one with the most tails.

"There are the tailed beast and then there are the Jinchuriki that those beast are sealed into. The reason why they are sealed into jinchuriki is to keep them and their power in check. Naruto, the nine tails was sealed into you, making you the nine tails Jinchuriki

"The person who sealed him in you was the fourth hokage. He sealed the nine tails into you when he went on a rampage and destroyed the village. Sealing him was the only way he could save the village." Jiraiya ended off.

Naruto went silent as he took in the new information. He had heard of creatures such as tailed beasts... But he never knew anything about them.

He guessed that changed now.

Naruto thought back to all the times when he was called names such as monster, demon and all the others. It made sense. Everything made sense now.

They hated him because of the nine tails sealed inside him.

_"He is the reason your father is dead" _that was what the woman had said the other day. She blamed him for something that he didn't do... But he guessed he could understand their hate now.

The nine tails was sealed into him so it made sense to hate the person that hate the beast in them.

"Naruto... I want you to know that what happened those few years ago was not your fault. I don't even think it was the fox's fault. I have means to believe that the fox was being manipulated by someone... Even the third believes this, but of course we don't have any proof..."

"Why didn't I know about this? Why didn't anybody tell me?" Naruto asked.

"Because lord third banned everyone from even talking about the attack... Naruto... The reason why he chose me to train you is because I can help you control the nine tails chakra. I can also try to suppress its power in case he tries to take over... But I don't think that will happen. That seal is way to strong, but it allows the fox's chakra to seep through and it will eventually weaken the seal"

"Then please... Start training me so that that will never happen." Naruto said, shocking Jiraiya. He was now looking up at the man, determination in his eyes.

Jiraiya could see hurt in there as well. He could see how much this news hurt the blonde, but his determination to get over that hurt was awe inspiring.

"Naruto..."

"I know that this news is probably something that I should be crying about. But I'm tired of crying. I don't care if there's a tailed beast sealed into me. I don't care if I'm a jinchuriki. I will learn how to control my own chakra and the nine tails. I will do everything in my power to gain the respect of the village!" He exclaimed and Jiraiya grinned.

"Yosh! Let's get starte-" He said but the sound of a growling stomach stopped him.

"Ahaha... Maybe we could start after I eat something" Naruto said as he brought his hand up to scratch at the back of his head in a nervous way.

He hadn't eaten in a day at most so he was a little bit pekish.

"I'm hungry too"

* * *

><p>A week had passed since Jiraiya had told Naruto about the nine tails and Naruto had told Jiraiya about the three men. They hadn't stayed long at the inn they were at and left after three days they were now in a village called Sakura.<p>

Jiraiya had said hat the village was named that because of the sakura trees that surrounded the village. It was also a village known for peace and serenity.

Naruto quite like this place. He wasn't looked at with hateful eyes and he was treated like a human being.

"Naruto... Please concentrate. Chakra control is the first thing you need to learn. You need to be able to mould chakra to do any type of ninjutsu" Jiraiya said. This was the third time that day that he had asked Naruto to concentrate.

They were in a small field located outside of Sakura village. He thought it would be better to train him in an open space. If the blonde was going to be learning chakra control then it was essential that he wasn't in contact with any other villagers as something could go wrong during training.

"Sorry... I got a little caught up in my thoughts... Okay... This is the last time I swear." The blonde said as he sat down on the cool grass.

"Right... You're actually doing quite well... But you still don't know how to control your chakra correctly... I'm taking a chance here but I want you to try and make a clone. You should know the basic hand signs, right?" He asked and Naruto nodded.

"Now... While making those hand signs I want you to mould your chakra. Using hand signs helps mould your chakra into a certain shape that is needed for a certain jutsu. The more experience you gain, the less hand signs you need to make as you'll be able to do things at will" Jiraiya explained.

Naruto nodded his head and stood up. He took in a deep breath before making the signs ram, snake and tiger.

'Channel your chakra, then shape it using the hand signs' he chanted in his head.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" He shouted and a poof of smoke gathered in front of him. Once the smoke cleared they were greeted with a rather loopy looking clone. It didn't even look like Naruto.

"Aw man" he said as the weird clone of himself fell to the ground and dispersed. "Well...at least you managed to make something... I think its a good start. You've only been training for a few days and you're seriously progressing. We just need to get that control up to a reasonable standard" Jiraiya said with a smile.

"I don't think I made any progress... I tried doing what you told me to but I just can't get a firm grip of my chakra" Naruto said as he sat back on the ground.

"Its not that you can't get a grip of it. You obviously had accessed chakra a minute ago. If you hadn't then there wouldn't have been a clone in front of you."

"That was definitely not a clone" Naruto said and Jiraiya sighed. "Naruto. You come from the Uzumaki clan. Uzumaki's possess large amounts of chakra just by themselves. The fact that you have the nine tails in you means that that amount is made larger. Well... Not necessarily... But once you can control the nine tails chakra you'll have an even larger amount.

"Right now you're using too little of that chakra, barely enough to do any type of jutsu. Try the bunshin again and add a little more chakra" Jiraiya said.

"Here, let me show you" he said as he made the signs and a clone of himself appeared in a poof of smoke. "See" both clones grinned down at Naruto, creeping the blonde out slightly.

"Please don't smile like that" the blonde said with a creeped out expression on his face. "Just do the jutsu" Jiraiya said as his jutsu poofed away.

"Right!" The blonde shouted. He didn't get up though. He sat down and brought his hands together and started making the same hand signs as before.

That same poof of smoke filled in front of him and as soon as it cleared the blonde was greeted with nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"I think you put a little too much in..." Jiraiya said as he stared at the blonde. "Well, I'm going to go and do my research. I want you to get this jutsu right so I'll leave you to train by yourself" Jiraiya said and just as Naruto was about to complain the man disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Eh?! That was a clone?!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that's it for this chapter. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed, blah, blah , blah. <strong>_

_**I must say this isn't my best work but don't worry... The next chapter will be better... I realized that I had made a mistake with the previous chapter's name. It was supposed to be Burning Bones, not skies. Anyway... Well... I think I'll get started on the next chapter... **_

_**Oh! Wait! I wanted to say something. Naruto's chakra nature is still going to be wind. I want him to be able to manipulate another as well. I'd actually like it if you guys could help me out with that... So far I was thinking about water release but I'm not sure... Ideas are definitely appreciated. **_

_**1; originally the seal mark only shows when Naruto uses Kuruma's chakra but I changed it a little bit to fit this story. Naruto will be on good terms with the nine tails, but only later on in the story. Until then conversations between the two will be rare, but not completely. **_

_**Bye! Please review! **_


	3. Piercing Wind

_**A/N: well hello there! I have decided what Naruto's second nature release will be! Water! Yay! **_

_**Ahem. Okay, well, I wanna make this short so I'll say a few things. **_

_**Naruto's appearance will be altered slightly, nothing too big, just his hair and his clothing choice. **_

_**The reason why I want a two year time skip for this chapter and the next is because with each two years Naruto learns his chakra  nature and learns jutsu's from said chakra nature. Anyway... So the next chapter will be about both his wind and water chakra which he can combine. **_

_**He will have a bloodline limit. He doesn't have one, but in this fanfiction he definitely will. Its fanfiction so who cares? I can write what I want… **_

_**Also, since he is ANBU, ANBU can typically have more than two nature release. I want Naruto to have at least three, plus his bloodline limit. I'm letting you guys vote though! What will it be? Fire, Earth or Lightning?**_

_**Also, Naruto will still have the Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (multi shadow clone technique) it is a forbidden jutsu still, but let's say Jiraiya was a sneaky bastard and 'borrowed' the scroll of forbidden seals from the third because he knew Naruto's potential!**_

_**Kay, now that that's out of the way On we go with the story!**_

_**'Biju talking'**_

_**"**_**Jutsu**_**"**_

_**Crumbling**_

_**Chapter 3: Piercing Wind**_

* * *

><p>Laughter echoed throughout the small cabin that inhibited two human beings. One of them being a small little boy with long blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes, that rivalled the oceans.<p>

The other man was much older, having long, spiky white hair and a perverted grin on his face.

"Naruto! That jutsu was great! You can fool so many men with that!" The older of the two exclaimed as the other laughed.

"Jiraiya-sensei, you pervert!" He said after his laughter died down slightly. He stared up at his mentor with fond eyes. "Sensei? Why did you decide to train me?" Naruto said with a serious look on his face.

Jiraiya, slightly caught off guard, smiled. "Well... Let's say I'm doing a favour for two people that were dear to me" the man said, ruffling Naruto's long blonde hair. Naruto smiled up at his teacher.

"Mom and dad?" The blonde asked and Jiraiya nodded. "Sometimes I forget that you already know about your parents" he said, his smile turning into a grin. "How 'bout we have a little sparring match?" He said, changing the subject.

The ten year old grinned up at his mentor. "You know... Its kind of unfair for me to go up against you... I'm only a chuunin... You're much higher than me..." The blonde said and Jiraiya chuckled. "The fact that you made chuunin at such a young age means you are probably just as good as me... And I would know because I'm your mentor" he said.

Naruto smiled. "I guess you're right... But I'm still nowhere compared to you" he admitted. "But I don't mind sparring with my perverted sensei" he said with a mischievous grin.

The blonde got up from his seat and headed outside of the cabin, Jiraiya following after him.

After walking a small distance they both end up at a small field. It wasn't too small. It was the right size for a sparring match.

"You ready?" Jiraiya asked and Naruto nodded. "Of course, ttebayo'!" He said and with that the sparring match began with both males jumping backwards into a bush.

Naruto quickly makes the hand seals for a shadow clone. Once the clone was made he revealed his strategy to it before sending it off.

Naruto then climbs out of the bush and makes his way to the middle of the field. "Jiraiya-sense? How bout' a little taijutsu?" He called out, a devious smirk on his face.

"I somehow knew you'd ask that" Jiraiya said as he came out of hiding. He had a grin on his face. He enjoyed sparring with Naruto, but with the blonde becoming more advanced in jutsu it was a little hard to counteract some things Naruto would throw at him.

He guessed that it couldn't really be helped. Naruto had been nothing but a bag of determination during their trip so far, and it wasn't that surprising that he was on the verge of surpassing even the fourth Hokage.

Jiraiya was proud. He is the one who is training Naruto so of course he'd be proud.

At first he didn't think that the blonde would actually be able to become a ninja, at least not at his age, but he was sorely mistaken and the ten year old boy in front of him now was living proof of it.

Just as Jiraiya was about to engage in combat with the blonde he heard Naruto yell a set of words and he more than saw the evil smirk on the blondes face.

_**"Oiroke no jutsu!" **_Naruto shouted. Jiraiya's facial expression turned into a perverted one. Before he could say anything 'Naruto' spoke in a sultry voice.

"Ah~ Jiraiya-sensei~!" Jiraiya stared at the blonde, un fazed. "Naruto, that jutsu won't work on me and you know it" the man said and 'naruto' gave a sad smile.

"But, Jiraiya-sensei~ this isn't supposed to work" the blonde said, his voice listless. "Naruto, are you using this as a way to distract me? If you are then you should know that it won't work" Jiraiya said, his face blank.

"I know... You could at least act like it would!" The blonde said as he poofed back to normal. "If you were fighting against any other male ninja besides me, that would have worked in distracting. But I'm a pervert as it is so I'm almost immune"

"You're not immune! You're just keeping everything in because it's a 'battle'" the blonde said with a pout. He walked towards his mentor, arms crossed.

"Argh, lets start the real taijutsu" he grumbled.

* * *

><p>Their sparring match ended an hour or so after it started with Jiraiya winning. The reason for that would be that he was older and more skilled than the blonde in tact and patience.<p>

"You were really impatient today... But you really surprised me with that clone... I didn't think a wind style could be used for that" Jiraiya said.

They were both at a hot spring, Jiraiya's treat.

"I wasn't impatient! You were just being an old man and taking your time. And I was testing that clone... I didn't think it would actually work" the blonde said truthfully.

The clone they were talking about was the one he had made moments before their taijutsu match had actually started. At first Jiraiya had thought that it was a normal shadow clone, as would any other ninja, but this clone was different.

When Jiraiya destroyed the clone, a gust of air had hit him. He didn't even have time to defend. It wasn't that strong but it had shocked him which ended up with him standing there, a few cuts on his skin, and Naruto landing a punch square in his face.

"I was only testing that clone... I made sure that the chakra in him was purely wind and that a gush of wind would hit the enemy at the time of his defeat..." Naruto explained truthfully.

"Well it was really sneaky and some what smart. I honestly didn't know you could make a shadow clone purely out of wind and at the time it disperses it can attack your opponent one last time, which will shock them into a stand still, allowing you to get a hit at them" Jiraiya said and Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Ah... I hadn't thought that far... I just thought it would be cool to have a wind styled shadow clone... I mean you get water, earth and wood, why not a wind?"

"Your clone is a little more advanced. It was almost like a bomb with a timer and your opponent has the switch. Its really useful. We should work on putting more force in the wind to make it even more great"

"I know... I wasn't sure if it would work so I wasn't going to waste my chakra..." The blonde explained and Jiraiya chuckled. "Naruto, you then already have such big reserves. Adding a little more wouldn't have killed you"

"Yes, but if I added a little too much I could have seriously hurt you... I don't have full control you know..." Naruto explained, a saddened look on his face.

Jiraiya stared at the blonde before splashing him with hot water. "Naruto, you have good chakra control and its amazing that you can change the shape and nature of you're chakra at such a young age"

"Okay, okay" the blonde said, a soft smile on his face

* * *

><p><strong>Well hello! I'm really sorry that I haven't updated and I'm also sorry that this is so sort. School started up and I got new subjects so everything is different... <strong>

**My subjects are also really hard... **

**Anyway... **

**I really didn't want this to be sooo short but I just don't have much to write for this chapter. Plus I want to skip to the chuunin exams which is in the next chapter. Yes, I plan on making the next chapter really long, to make up for this one you could say. **

**Anyway... I'm going to go now. I don't know when the next chapter will be up but please bare with me!**

**He'll also be talking to Kuruma next chap! Oh and Naruto is already a chuunin. He will only be watching the exams as a jonin! Reason for that is cuz you have to be jonin to become ANBU unless its Danzo's ANBU! And Gaa-bear makes an appearance.**

**Ciao**


	4. Water and Wind

**Well hello there! I appreciate all the reviews I got for the last chapter! Also, since two people suggested lightning, Lightning will be Naruto's third nature transformation.**

**I skipped this into two parts because I don't want this to be too long and too rushed. And don't forget that it's a two year time skip here. Naruto is twelve and a jonin. **

**Ahem. Well... I guess that's all you need to know... Let's get on with the story! **

**'Biju talking' + **_'Jinchuriki reply'_

**"Jutsu"**

_**"Dreams"**_

**Crumbling**

**Chapter 4: water and wind creates a storm (Part 1)**

* * *

><p>"Naruto, the third Kazekage will be coming to Konoha for the chuunin exams. Since you are most trusted by me, I'd like to send you out to Suna to escort him and his group back to Konoha"<p>

Naruto stared at his Hokage, his eyes blank and void of anything. "Will I be undertaking a disguise? I have heard how you are questioning the intentions of Suna and their Kazekage. So will I be there as an escort and a spy as well?" The blonde asked.

"Our ties between the Suna village are wearing thin. I have a bad feeling about their attending our exams but it cannot be helped. I don't want you to go in a disguise because they will get suspicious"

"Yes, sir" the blonde said with a nod. "Will that be all?" He asked and Sarutobi nodded his head. "Yes, you are dismissed. You leave tonight for Suna; I expect that with your stamina that you will be there within 36 hours"

"Yes, Hokage-sama" the blonde said before he walked out of the large office. **'Kit, I can lend you some of my chakra and you can travel faster' **the blonde heard a voice say in his head. _'I know... But I can't always rely on your chakra, Kura... If I do I'll end up draining you' _

**'It's just this once. And when you get to Suna I want you to heighten your senses. I have a bad feeling about those Suna nins' **the fox said and Naruto giggled. _'Kura, are you worried about me?' _He said in a teasing way, causing the fox within him to let out a growl.

**'Of course I am! If you die, I die!' **He explained and the blonde smiled. _'You and I both know that that isn't why you're worried' _the blonde said in his mind. He heard the fox let out another growl before it spoke again.

**'I'm taking a nap'**

* * *

><p>When the sun went down and the sky was coated in darkness, Naruto travelled the short distance from his house to the village gates. The villagers that were still outside gave him weary looks, as well as disgusted and fearful ones.<p>

Naruto still hated those looks. He hated them with a burning passion. He wanted to scream and shout at all of the people that looked at him with those eyes.

But he couldn't. He learned that hiding your emotions around would help. So he hid everything. Of course, not so long ago his walls were broken down and he was left vulnerable.

He had been training for the purpose of protecting himself from the villagers that hated him, as well as to gain their respect. But when he was walking home after a mission one day, the same thing that happened to him four years ago, happened to him.

And he couldn't defend himself. He was taken off guard. He had tried to scream out, to fight back, but his body had gone numb and all he could do was lie there and let them defile his body.

**'Kit, don't think back to that time. It's not going to do you any good... Just focus on your mission' **Kurama said, waking up from his 'nap' after hearing all those thoughts the blonde was having.

_'I know, Kura...I'll focus on my mission... It's the only thing that will help take my mind off it' _the blonde replied.

Naruto exited the gates and started running. He could feel Kurama giving him chakra, not that he actually needed it. Naruto had his own chakra and it alone was a large amount. Of course when you add Kurama's chakra his jutsu and stamina increases tenfold.

The blonde silently thanked the fox. He was hoping to get to Suna at the end of tomorrow at least. He planned to stop sometime during the night and rest, seeing as running nonstop would eventually tire him, even with his large stamina.

The blonde was currently multitasking. He was watching out for any danger, as well as thinking about his mission at hand. So far the area he was running through seemed safe.

His thoughts though were all jumbled. He wondered how the Kazekage was like. He had never seen the man before and since he didn't really know the man, he was slightly weary. He had heard countless things about Suna, and not all of those things were pleasant.

That aside he was still curious about the man and his village. He wanted to find out if what he had heard was true. If they had really turned one of their own into a tailed beast host. He also heard that that host wasn't even born at the time and that his or she's own mother was sacrificed in the process.

He also wanted to know how the village survived in that heat. Since Suna was basically in the middle of a dessert, their seasons were basically a warm winter, a warm summer, a warm spring and a warm autumn.

Naruto didn't think that he'd be able to survive those conditions. Konoha was already so hot during the summer. He couldn't imagine the heat being tripled.

The blonde smiled. He guessed he didn't have to imagine it because he was going to be experiencing it within two days, maybe less. He wasn't looking forward to the heat, but he did look forward to feeding his curiousness.

**'Curiosity killed the cat, you know' **Kurama said in the blondes mind. Naruto grinned. _'This cat isn't easy to kill'_

* * *

><p>Nearly six hours after leaving the village Naruto had stopped and rested. He hadn't been getting the best of sleep and he doubted that a small nap would do any harm. During that short time he had travelled quite a distance seeing as he was an hour or so away from being out of the fire country.<p>

He had made sure to search the area in case anything was to happen, and he also had a clone watching over. His clone looked a little bit worried as it looked back at the sleeping blonde and then back again.

_**"You have no one else to blame for all of this. It's your own fault that this happens" came a hoarse voice, followed by a groan. "It's your fault that you're being handled with rough hands" **_

_**"P-please... Stop..." Came the weak voice of Naruto. Although the words managed to leave the blondes lips, they were soft and inaudible. The only sounds were his whimpers and the sound of skin slapping against skin. **_

_**"Did you say something?" Came that hoarse voice. A hand pulled roughly at the blondes hairs, making him hiss out in pain. "Did you tell me to stop?" The man asked and the blonde grit his teeth at the pain he felt not only in his head but the pain in his back side that kept on growing. **_

_**"I won't stop. I won't listen to your breathless pleas. And I never will. You are a monster, a demon. You're the dirt underneath my shoes" the man growled out as the sound of skin slapping against skin became more harsh. **_

_**"Then you're only dirtying yourself by doing this to me!" Naruto managed to shout out. "When it involves you, deeds such as this are justified. Everything that has happened to you during your existence has been justified" **_

_**The blonde looked up at the man, a scowl on his face. "Get off of me. Now" he said, his voice still weak but holding a tone of authority. "No" the man said and Naruto spat at him. "Let me-!" He started but a shock of pain travelled up his right leg and into his lower parts. Added with the current pain he was feeling, it was quite gruesome. **_

_**The blonde whimpered out. He could feel his consciousness leaving him. **_

_**"Don't sleep now. My men haven't had their turn with you yet" a voice said, interrupting him from falling into that sweet, sweet unconsciousness. **_

_**The blonde looked to his side to see two familiar men, both wearing no clothing. Tears welled up in his eyes.**_

_**"Please... Please!" **_

"Let me go!" The blonde screamed as he woke up from his dream, making his clone jump. The blonde sat up and tried to calm his breathing.

His body ached. That dream, no memory, had felt so really and it brought up emotions in him that he'd rather keep hidden.

He felt dirty, like he had committed a great sin and was being looked down at by god, not that he actually believed in god or anything.

"What is it?" His clone asked as he made it way towards the real. Naruto looked up at his clone, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. "Please hold me" he told him.

The clone nodded its head and wrapped its arms around the blonde, giving him both warmth and comfort.

Naruto felt pathetic. He was using his own clone to provide him with support. But what else could he do? The only person he had was Jiraiya and even though they were both close, the blonde didn't want the man to see him in his current state.

He was shaking, crying -not that he noticed the tears- and trying his hardest to stop the ache in his chest and everywhere else on and in his body.

Naruto felt even more pathetic as a sad truth dawned on him. He had done everything to become a splendid shinobi. He tried hard to learn how to defend himself and to get the villagers respect, but everything that he hoped for wasn't happening and the opposite of his reasoning's were happening.

He couldn't defend for himself and the villagers hated him still. He could understand the last part but the first he just couldn't.

He trained so hard to get to where he was and yet, each time his body gets touched in an unacceptable way he just freezes and gets caught. It's his ultimate weakness and one he absolutely hated. The trauma of his first rape had scarred him for life.

He needed to get over that fear but he didn't know how too.

* * *

><p>When the sun started rising the following morning Naruto had made quite the distance. He was already in the land of wind.<p>

He hadn't been able to sleep after that dream he had last night so he decided that he'd just keep on moving. He put more effort into his running and made it out of the land of fire within an hour.

He was almost near Suna, and he was quite proud of himself. To travel to Suna is normally a three day trip, maybe more depending on how slow you are. Naruto guessed that he'd be there within the next hour which would mean that he made a three day trip into an overnight one.

He knew that the trip back would probably be slower, considering that the Kazekage and his company would not be in any rush to get back to Konoha.

Naruto actually wondered why he has to escort the Kazekage. The man was capable of fighting for himself and Naruto was sure that he'd bring along his most trusted ANBU or jonin.

_"It's to establish trust between our two nations. When I am to be seen in his village, he will send an escort for me and when he is to be seen here, I will send an escort. It's to show that we care for each other's safety" _Naruto remembered his own Hokage tell him.

In a way it made sense to send an escort, it meant that both villages were being cautious in protecting their Kage.

"Sending me there would insult the Kazekage" Naruto said to himself. It was true. He was still young and when the Kazekage would see him, he'd immediately think that the Hokage wasn't serious in protecting him and that would lead to a treaty failure.

Maybe the Kazekage would be thoughtful of the Hokage's decision. Of course, Naruto would have to wait to find out.

* * *

><p>When the blonde had finally stepped through the gates of Suna, he was dead tired, and slightly dehydrated. He had pushed himself harder than usual and part of him thought of it as wanting to complete the mission and another part didn't believe that at all.<p>

**'Kit, you can't force yourself like this. There's only so much that my chakra can do for you' **Kurama said, as he 'summoned' Naruto deep within his mind.

Naruto stared at the fox, watching the nine tails behind him wave around lazily. He remembered the first time he had seen the fox. It was caged and not very happy.

He didn't actually know how him and Kurama had become so bonded, but details such as that were meaningless. He didn't care how or why, he was just happy that they were.

_'Kura, don't worry so much. Your fur will fall off' _the blonde said, a soft smile on his face. Kurama growled at the blonde but stayed silent.

_'Anyway... Those two men said that I'd be sent straight to the Kazekage so I need you to lay down on talking. Only speak when I can answer' _the blonde said.

Kurama nodded his head before closing his eyes. Naruto chuckled at the fox's behaviour before going out of their mental talk and back into reality.

He wasn't quite sure where he was or where the Kazekage building was, but knowing the layout of his own village told him that it would be the tallest building.

He was already near that building. Naruto was fascinated with the structures in Suna. Most were shaped like domes and looked odd, but somehow it seemed fitting for such a village.

Walking into the largest dome shaped building; Naruto was greeted by an empty looking room with one desk and a female sitting behind said desk.

He walked towards her, pulling out a scroll that his Hokage had given him before he left the village.

Once he was in front of the desk he handed over the scroll to the woman, cutting her off as she was about to speak.

The woman opened up the scroll and read its content before looking back at the blonde.

"Right, you're a little early but Kazekage-sama won't mind seeing you" she said in a cheerful tone. To Naruto, her cheerfulness seemed force. "You may go down there. It's the third door to your right"

Naruto nodded his head and went the way the woman had instructed him to take, pushing down the heavy feeling that developed in his heart. He didn't think that the woman had trusted him because she seemed quite hesitant. But the blonde pushed that aside and decided that he wouldn't let it affect him.

'**Naruto' **Kurama called his voice serious. _'I know, I can sense it as well' _the blonde replied. He knew that the woman's distrust wasn't the only thing that had brought the heaviness into his heart. There was something else in the building that was making him upset and happy at the same time.

When the blonde had finally made it to the door that held the Kazekage inside, he took in a deep breath before knocking softly.

"Come in" a voice said, slightly muffled by the door. Naruto turned the knob and entered quietly, ignoring the cold stare that he could feel on him. He wondered if that was the Kazekage or someone else.

"Kazekage-san, I am Uzumaki Naruto. Hokage-sama sent me to be you and your groups escort back to our village" the blonde said as he bowed his head as a sign of respect. "I had requested a jonin, you are a kid. Is this how little your Hokage cares about my safety?" the man asked.

Naruto looked up, his blue eyes meeting with dark brown, almost black, ones. "I am a jonin. Outer appearances can be deceiving, Kazekage-san" the blonde said, a soft smile on his face.

Just as the man behind the desk was about to say something, the blonde pulled out a kunai and jumped up onto the man's desk, back facing the man and a snarl on his face. The blonde could feel a hateful presence near him and it was directed towards the Kazekage. He also felt an immense amount of chakra

He stared in front of him. There was a boy there. A small, hateful looking boy. "The fact that you could sense Gaara means that you really are a Jonin and a good sensor" the Kazekage said casually. "Gaara? Do you know this boy?" Naruto asked as he got off of the table, his eyes still on the boy.

"Yes," the man said plainly. "He is my son" Naruto's eyes widened. He knew by the large amount of chakra that he was feeling that this boy was a Jinchuriki just like him; he also knew that the hatefulness in the boy's cold, dead eyes were meant for the man behind him.

And he was shocked. He had heard the rumours about Suna turning one of their own into a Jinchuriki… but finding out that the Kazekage would actually do that to his own son made Naruto angry.

Of course he had to push down that anger for the sake of the mission. He couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way.

"Hi" the blonde said, a grin on his face as he looked at the boy in front of him, taking in his appearance.

He wore a black full body suit with an open neck. He had a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips. He also had a large leather band over his left shoulder and right hip that seemed to be holding a large gourd behind him. He also had red hair, black rings around his eyes and a kanji for love on the left side of his forehead as well as blue-green eyes to contrast with everything.

Naruto smiled again.

"I'm Naruto, nice to meet you"

* * *

><p><strong>And that is where I am ending it off. I wanna warn you guys now. The next chapter will have a lot of time skips. I won't be actually writing about the chuunin exams but it will be in that time range. <strong>

**Okay, so, what did you think of this story? Boring, too long, too short, whatever? Please review and tell me if there was something you didn't like or something that needs improving. **

**Also, if you have ideas than you should say them. I would like to hear other people's thoughts! **

**Now… I'm going to go now and write for my other story. **

**Bye! Pet potatoes and review! I want reviews! They are motivation! **


	5. Water and Wind (part two)

**Well hello there, here's part two! So, I have decided that I'm not going to go into detail about any fights, only for this chapter though. I really don't want to make this too long and too boring, so there will be a major time skip near the end and I will describe all that went on in the chuunin exams then. So, this is the warning, thank you, you may continue.**

**Question, who would be so kind and do a cover/fanart for this story? I would do it myself but have too much to do already. if you will be willing, please PM me! Thanks!**

**'Biju talking' **_'jinchuriki reply' _

**"Jutsu"**

_**"Dreams" **_

**Crumbling**

**Chapter 4: Water and wind creates a storm (part 2)**

* * *

><p>Naruto was tired. Actually, tired wasn't even the correct word to describe the state of exhaustion he was feeling at the moment. He was still in Suna, and since he was early the Kazekage had made him babysit. Yes. Babysit.<p>

That little red head that had so much hatred towards his father, yea, that was the kid he had to babysit.

After nearly getting killed twice, stopping the kid from killing three people and then getting a handful of sand shoved down his throat for scolding the red head, Naruto decided that he had had enough and kindly gave the Kazekage his son back.

The Kazekage wouldn't take him back and told Naruto that "I'm far too busy. I just need you to make sure he doesn't kill anybody. Our feudal lord will be in today and I can't risk him getting out of hand. You're a trusted jonin in konoha, I'm sure you can handle small fits"

'Small fits my butt!' He shouted in his head. 'That kid snapped at the slightest of things!' He looked over at the boy who was sitting on the edge of one of the buildings.

Naruto sighed. He could understand what the boy was feeling though. He could sense how unloved and utterly lonely the boy was, after all, he was exactly the same.

"You know, Gaara... I heard you say something just now... Something about proving your existence by destroying another's... That's not right. You can't kill people for the sake of proving your worth. It's unjustifi-."

"Shut up" Gaara cut him off, his brow less brows knitted together in anger. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the red head. "Look here, you're a real pain in the neck. If it weren't for the fact that you're the Kazekage's son I would have beaten your ass the minute I met you" the blonde said, his lips trembling in anger.

"You can't beat me" was all the red head said, his face back into that emotionless mask he always seemed to be wearing. "You're a little too confident. But I guess you could be right. I can't judge you just by your appearance" the blonde admitted.

'Plus... You're a jinchuriki' he added mentally.

"I can sense the blood lust in you. Its horrible. No child your age should be capable of holding such a lust..." Naruto said and Gaara turned towards him, a scowl on his face.

"Shut. Up" he hissed and Naruto scowled back at him. "Make me" he said as he waited for the red head to do something.

Sand started covering his body and the blonde smiled. "Your sand has a weakness. After all, every jutsu has a weakness" the blonde said as he made a hand sign and then his body started to liquify, making the sand on his body turn into mud.

Once Naruto was free of the sand and his body wasn't waster, he looked up at the red head, that same smile still in place. He took sadistic pleasure in the red heads look of anger, but unfortunately he knew that upsetting him would only lead to trouble.

"How bout I make you a deal?" The blonde said. "Since I can tell that you won't stop until I am dead, I'll make a clone that you can kill" the blonde suggested and Gaara growled.

"A clone is nothing but an illusion created by the castor. I want to kill you, mother wants to kill you" the boy said, confusing the blonde.

'Who is 'mother'?' He asked himself before replying to the boy. "During my training I have learned a handful of jutsu, some of which are forbidden... There's the shadow clone technique, and then there's the blood shadow clone... The blood clone is a live clone of myself, made from a small portion of my blood and chakra. Killing my blood clone would be like killing the real me,"

"Although, this jutsu does come with risks... Once that amount of chakra and blood go into that clone, I cannot get it back. Its okay though. I have a large amount of chakra so such a jutsu can't affect me... Well it can but that is if I over use it... So I can only use it when I'm in the deep end... I guess this can be considered as one of those times"

When the blonde had finished his small speech, he made a couple of hand signs, the normal for a shadow clone and once a clone of himself was in front of him he made another set before biting his thumb and slamming his hand on the clone.

"There, do what you will with him" Naruto said as he looked at the red head and then at his clone. Gaara stared at the clone before lifting his hand.

Naruto watched as sand covered the clone completely. He watched as Gaara's face took on a sadistic look, one that sent chills down his spine.

Not even moments later was the blondes clone being crushed by the sand. The sound of bones being crushed was grating and made Naruto want to barf. He couldn't believe that that was what the red head had wanted to do to him.

Naruto knew that he was strong, but with Gaara being able to control sand would prove to be difficult. He had contoured the sand once, but that was because the sand was moving slow. Had it been faster Naruto was sure that he would have lost an arm or even his life. After all, he might have been strong, or at least praise worthy, but there were a lot of ninja out there that were ten times better than him.

"There, are you happy now?" The blonde asked as he stared at the red head. Gaara said nothing. He was watching the sand travel back to him with mild satisfaction. Naruto could tell why he was satisfied. The sight of his clones blood on the sand must of been thrilling for the red head.

**'Naruto... This kid has some issues.' **Kurama said. Naruto wanted to laugh at how obvious the fox's sentence was. _'I think I realized that when he tried to kill that little boy a few hours ago' _the blonde told the fox.

**'It can't be helped. He is Shukaku's jinchuriki. That one tailed brat has a thirst for blood that's higher than mine, believe it or not. He manipulates his carriers and turns them into what you see before you' **

_'A cold blooded killer?' _The blonde asked.**'Exactly that' **Kurama replied. **'Be weary of him. If he loses control and Shukaku takes over it can only prove to be detrimental'**

* * *

><p>A week after Naruto arrived in Suna he was back in Konoha, along with the Kazekage and his gaggle of people.<p>

The pace had been extremely slow so it took them nearly four days to get back to Konoha. Naruto hadn't enjoyed the pace at all. It was troublesome and not to mention tense.

He was the only one feeling tense though and nobody could blame him. Gaara had been staring at him most of the time. And the worst part of it all was that the stare was blank, filled with nothing but a cold void.

It was almost as if he wasn't even staring at him but rather through him. It was creepy and had sent shivers up and down the blondes spine.

"Hokage-sama, I'm hear to give my report" the blonde voiced out. He was standing in front of Sarutobi's desk, waiting patiently for the man to acknowledge him.

"Ah yes. I trust that everything went smoothly?" He ask but it sounded almost as if the man had stated a fact. "Yes, sir. I arrived two days early. The Kazekage, since I was early, allowed me to do a few things for him as he was busy. We left three days after my arrival and arrived back in Konoha today."

"Did that man make you do chores?" Sarutobi said with a heartily chuckle. "No... Oji-san?" Naruto said, becoming more casual.

"What is it?" The old man asked, his smile dropping and his laughter dying. "During the last couple of days I sensed something quite odd about the Kazekage, it was almost li-"

"Sarutobi-san, how nice it is to see you again" came a deep voice, cutting off Naruto's sentence. "Yondaime-san. How pleasant it is to have you back in our village. I trust that Naruto here was of use to you?" The man said with a smile.

"Indeed. I gave him a very important job to do while in my own village" the man said, his face blank. "And what was this important job?" Sarutobi asked with mild amusement.

"He was to look after my son, Gaara" he said, his voice, and face, serious. "Oh, did he now. I believe that the last time we had had a meeting you told one of my other Jonins to do the same"

"Indeed. May I speak with you alone, please?" Rasa asked. Sarutobi nodded his head before looking at Naruto, who at this point was just standing there awkwardly.

"Naruto... You are dismissed. You may finish your report tomorrow morning. And one more thing," he said looking back at the Fourth and then back at the blonde again.

"I think Yondaime over here would appreciate it if you 'watched' his son again" the man said. Naruto nodded at his Hokage before looking at the Kazekage who just nodded his head in approval.

The blonde left the room after that and made his way outside of the Hokage building. Naruto wasn't really pleased with his hokage.

He didn't want to look after the Kazekage's son. He didn't want to look after anyone. But, it was something his hokage told him to do, and Naruto couldn't refuse him, so the blonde sucked it up and made his way over to where he thought the red head would be.

* * *

><p>Once again Naruto was dead tired. Gaara <em>and <em>his siblings were quite troublesome, Gaara being the most. The red head had a brother and a sister, Kankuro and Temari. Both seemed to be pretty afraid of the teen and Naruto couldn't really blame them.

Gaara was a monster.

Naruto witnessed him kill more than three people from Suna, and the sadistic look and no remorse sent shivers down the blondes spine.

**'Its because of Shukaku. Gaara cannot be blamed for his behaviour. That tanuki is damn manipulative. He threatens to take over while his carrier is asleep, forcing them to stay up hours on end which drains their mental stability.' **

_'Can he really take over?' _Naruto asked curiously. **'No. Its an empty threat. Us Biju can only take over if you willingly allow us too. But manipulation is a good way to get you to give us that control' **

_'That's what the one tails is doing. He's eating all of Gaara's mental and emotional stability and slowly coaxing him into allowing him to take over' _Naruto said and Kurama smiled. **'That is exactly what that one tailed brat is doing'.** The fox said, a growl escaping his throat.

**'His thirst for blood and excitement is almost disgusting... But I can't blame him. I hate humans as much as he does. They caged us inside jinchuriki to keep our power at bay. We aren't given freedom and we're treated like nothing but dirt." **

Naruto sighed. Kurama was right. Tailed beast suffered just as much as their jinchuriki. Having all your freedom stripped from you was almost the same as having no one care for you.

_'But you can't change the past' _Naruto said. He heard the fox chuckle. **'I wouldn't change it, kit.'**

_'Of course you wouldn't! The past is what brought you too me!' _The blonde said. The fox growled playfully at the kid. **'I'm taking a nap' **he said, leaving Naruto too his own thoughts and succumbing into the darkness that was Naruto's mind- or belly... Which ever way you want to view it as.

The blonde was currently in his own home, supposedly eating his instant ramen cup. The ramen was already cold seeing as Naruto had got distracted by Kurama and his own thoughts.

Naruto looked down at the ramen, a disgusted look forming on his face.

"I hate ramen... Especially when its cold (1)" he said too himself before getting up and taking the bowl and putting it in the basin. He made a mental note about cleaning it in the morning before going up to his bedroom..

The blonde changed into sleeping clothes before lying down on his bed. He was so tired but he knew that sleep would be slightly difficult to achieve. The silence around him was more intense than it usually was and he could feel his own shoulders tense.

He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't place what it was.

* * *

><p>[Four and a half months later]<p>

* * *

><p>The chuunin exams had passed, as well as all the trouble it had brought with it. Or rather all the trouble that the sand brought with it.<p>

Naruto had known that something was wrong, he knew full well that something bad would happen and he didn't do anything about it.

At first everything about the chuunin exams seemed normal, Naruto would know because he had been in one so everything seemed familiar. There had been the forest of death, the written test, but as soon as the fighting started a heaviness fell onto the blondes shoulders.

There was something wrong with the way the suna group had been fighting. Gaara had been holding back; something Naruto knew, thanks to analysing the red head, he didn't like to do.

He kept a stern eye on the red head and when it came to Gaara's and some kid named Lee's fight, the blondes suspicions got worse. He hadn't lost in the fight, but he had sent the kid to the hospital, having almost crushed all his bones with that dreadful sand.

Afterwards Naruto had gone to see the kid, he didn't know why but he had felt sorry for him. Another kid, some little genius brat, had been on his way as well and luckily both he and Naruto were there or else that kid named Lee would have been dead thanks to Gaara.

Gaara had wanted to finish what he had started. Naruto had given him a good scolding but all the red head did was glare at him.

Next came the red heads fight against the Uchiha kid. And that's where all the chaos started. Gaara had been struck for the first time, bled and screamed a blood curdling scream.

Naruto had been slightly shocked that the Uchiha, Sasuke, had been able tocrack Gaara's ultimate defense and land a hit on him, but the scream that the red head made him sick.

It was almost as though the sound of Gaara's pain made him cringe and want to throw up. He almost wanted to run down and help the red head. But he knew that he wasn't crying so much because of the pain but because of the inner battle he was fighting against the one tailed beast that seeked to take control at that moment.

Gaara had eventually calmed down, as well as the beast (though only Naruto knew this), he let his shield down and forfeited.

That's when the real problems started. He didn't know how but somehow he had been caught in a genjutsu, and genjutsu wasn't something he excelled in.

He managed, thanks to training with Jiraiya, to break it. When he had finally come back to reality the sand siblings were gone and everybody was asleep except for a pink haired girl and a few Chuunin and Jonin who seemed to be fighting Sound ninja's.

Naruto had wanted to join in but when the pink girl and Shikamaru and a small dog had started heading for the outer parts he had followed them. He knew for a fact that they were going after Gaara and his siblings.

The pink haired girl and Shikamaru hadn't protested in him joining them.

They had come across Kankuro, who even at his young age was excellent at puppetry. Thankfully some creepy guy that had bugs fought him for them, allowing them to move onwards.

Shikamaru had ended up fighting Temari, him being a genuis and deciding that it would be best if Naruto and Sakura, the pink haired girl, went on to catch the last of the Sand Siblings.

When they had finally caught up with Gaara, he had been half transformed into the Shukaku and was after Sasuke. The kid had been extremely weakened after using some mark on his shoulder, the pinkette had been pinned up against a tree by sand that hardened every few minutes, crushing her slowly.

Naruto had taken over after that and things were not easy. He may have been a jonin at his young age but not even he, a jinchuriki, could fight against a tailed beast, be it the one tails or even the five tails, that was let control.

Naruto was still far too young to be able to control the nine tails power so he had to do everything by himself with Kurama giving him chakra whenever he needed it.

And he had needed it. After two failed attempts at summoning a frog, the blonde had finally succeeded in summoning Gamabunta. Everything after that had been a total blur.

Naruto knew that no one had won the battle, but he also knew that Gaara had been taught a lesson... Mainly because Kurama had relaid everything too him.

Naruto may have not lost to Gaara, and Gaara may have not lost to him, but they had each lost something. Gaara his father- who was found dead, thanks to Orochimaru- and Naruto had lost Sarutobi.

The blonde had been devastated, but was quickly knocked up a peg or two by Jiraiya and some guy that was with him.

A week or so afterwards him and Jiraiya set out to find some woman who would take on the role as fifth hokage, seeing as Jiraiya had refused.

Finding her was easy, but convincing her to be Hokage was not. It took a full fledged battle against Orochimaru and his minion, Kabuto, to get her on board.

The blonde had to admit that the title Hokage suited her quite well. She was well into her fifties and man could she punch, outsmart and curse him.

"Naruto... Are you even paying attention to what I am saying?" The blonde woman asked, interrupting Naruto's thoughts.

"Oh... Sorry... What is it that you were saying?" He asked politely, smiling sheepishly. Tsunade sighed out.

"I said that you are now an ANBU member under my direct command. Now that the Uchiha has joined up with Orochimaru, I have more on my case than I would like. I think ANBU will suit you quite nicely, and having you under my command can come in handy" Tsunade said.

Naruto nodded his head. "I understand... But why choose me out of all of the jonin?" He asked. Tsunade brought her hands up and rested them at the bottom of her chin.

"You are quite the skilled ninja, especially at your age. You can control your emotions quite well and you have knowledge in battle. You are quite resourceful as well."

"Thank you. I won't let you down" the blonde said as he bowed and took his leave.

'Anbu,' he thought.

'I wonder what it's like being one'

* * *

><p>(1) Naruto is different in here, so I thought it was quite fitting to make him hate ramen.<p>

Anyway... Sorry that its late. School is a nightmare. I will try my hardest to have a chapter up by monday, but no promises.

Thank you to all those that reviewed! I really appreciate it and I hope you review some more! Those reviews are my motivation, my inspiration!

So review, pet a potato and stay awesome!

Oh and don't forget that next chapter will have a four year time skip. Its also the actual start of this story! Finally!

Bye! Review!


	6. Cold Words

**I just wanted to make a little something clear… in case no one actually got what I meant by the last two chapters name (water and wind creates a storm). Gaara has a wind affinity, Naruto has water and wind. The title means that Naruto and Gaara create a storm… just so you know! **

**Also, this chapter will be in Naruto's point of view. I feel like adding some change… but it won't always be in his point of view for this chap… I hate personal point of views… I will indicate when it goes back to the narrator's point of view. Oh and remember it's a four year time skip! Oh… there will also be and oc in here that's basically a replacement for Naruto, kay?**

**Warnings: a little Naruto hating Sakura in here, its intended for the story line so if you don't like it then I'm sorry**

'**Biju talking' **_'Jinchuriki reply'_

"**Jutsu"**

"_**Dreams"**_

_**'Flashbacks'**_

**Crumbling **

**Chapter 5: Cold Words**

* * *

><p>The wind was icy against my skin, making Goosebumps form on my flesh.<p>

There wasn't just the icy wind but snow crystals falling from the skies. It was a beautiful scene, but one that just left a feeling of dread and suspicion in my heart.

It wasn't winter and it was snowing.

This was not something that happened often in Konoha, and it was definitely something to be suspicious of.

Of course since it was only weather, nobody really cared.

"Kitsune-san, Hebi-kun is late again" came the light voice of one of my team mates, Hyo (leopard). I look back at the leopard mask wearing woman.

"Hebi-san is always late. At least Suzume-san is her" I say, looking at the sparrow masked man. He shrugs his shoulders at me. "I thought I'd be on time today"

"Please think about being on time everyday. When we are given a mission we are expected to complete them as quick as we can. You three know how I get if we don't complete a mission on time or even if we don't complete it"

"We do know... But there was never a time when we hadn't completed a mission... We don't know how you are in such a circumstance." Hyo, whose actual name is Higure, said.

"Would you like to find out?" I say almost threatingly. She shakes her head. "Of course not. But you also need to understand that your job as captain to Squad 6 you need to also make sure that your fellow comrades are on time" the woman said.

"It is your job to be on time. I am not your personal reminder" I shot back. I could tell that she was giving me a dirty look behind her mask. She didn't mean it, but today was just one of those days where everyone was on edge. I blame the sudden snow for that.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I lost track of time..." Said someone with a mask that looked like a sparrow. "You need to start being on time, _Hebi_. I'm not patient" I say, putting emphasise on his name to show my irriatation.

"Yes, Kitsune-san. May I ask what our objective is for this mission?" The man asked, his slightly deep voice holding relief and curiousity. I hummed out.

"Asassanation" I say. It was all I had to say. The jobs that came with being ANBU were asassanate, spy, protect or die. Dying as a sacrificial piece for your village was seen as honerable in our ninja world, but my own thoughts about dying for ones village were far different to that of the ninja worlds.

While I did see it as honerable, I also saw it as a way of getting away from this horrible life we all lived in. Dying for your village meant gaining their respect, even if it is after death.

Respect is always something that I've wanted but could never achieve. Of course I did gain respect from fellow ANBU memners down at HQ, but that was ANBU...

I wanted the respect of the whole village itself, not just ANBU.

I have been through a lot in this village, and wanting to gain their respect is not a sign of my forgiveness. I want their respect because that way they will leave me alone. They won't do what they did eight years ago... They'll stop giving me looks of disgust and rather looks of admiration.

That's all I want.

For them to look at me with something that isn't mean.

"What village?" Hyo asked. "It's a hidden village, the village hidden in the clouds," I start, "we leave now, scatter"

* * *

><p>Arriviving at the hidden cloud village without being seen or detected was not as easy as I would have hoped. I knew in the beginning that it would be hard getting in without being detected.<p>

We had to devise a plan that would allow us to get in, asassanate and get out without detection, or suspicion.

Luckily Hebi, or known as Kimigaki (a/n: a name I just made up), was good at forging documents and making things look legitimate.

We went under a disquise, or better yet a henge. We were supposedly off road traders, travelling from village to village, selling 'goods'

Finding our target was quite easy, since he was in plain sight. He was a pervious spy that knew far too much, and could prove to be detrimental to our village.

I'd devised a easy enough planto take him down, but when the time came to us making contact, he had already known about my presence and his assassination.

Recalling the moment that we'd entered, I remember how everything felt so serine, so unreal.

I was so used to completing my missions, and I was so used to doing them without anyone knowing, except my hokage and obviously my teammates, that when I'd come across someone that had been expecting his own death and had prepared for it I was struck with shock.

Who prepares for death?

_**'The air was dense, striking nerves of anxiety into my system. I knew that I was good at my job, I knew that well, but I always feared that I'd fail a mission and let everyone down. After all, I wasn't perfect and I could easily make a mistake and screw everything up. **_

_**It was nighttime, the sky having already filled with bright stars, leaving a sheen of dim light ontop of the village. The village hidden in the clouds was a beautifully styled village. I had only seen a few hidden villages. Our own, of cours, the hidden mist village, and the hidden grass village. Most villages that I have seen have beautiful textures, styles and colours. **_

_**Their leaders were something to be admired. **_

_**"Kitsune-san, I sense two chakra's coming our way" I heard Higure say behind me. I turn to look at her, nodding my head. " I know" I said before I nodded my head again at all of them. **_

_**They all scattered out while I stood there and made hand signs, perfoming my jutsu just as they rounded the corner. **_

_**"Hello there~" I purr out in my more sultry and feminine voice, swaying my hips, which were bare and just as feminine as my voice. **_

_**The men looked at my henge form, their eyes bulging out at my proportions. Blood dripped out both men's noses, their attention firmly place on my upper body.**_

_**"Hel-" before one of the males could finish their sentence, both Kimigaki and Hishi (Suzume) knocked them both out. I changed back to my normal self, and looked down at the two men. **_

_**"Men are way too easy" I said, earning coughs from my two males companions. "Not all of them" **_

_**"You know, had I been a drop dead gorgeuos male instead of the gorgeuos female, you'd be nothing but a sack of jelly" I said, pointing to both of the masked men, while putting my own fox shaped mask. **_

_**"Let's go" I said as we all broke out in a sprint, heading for our targets home. **_

_**Passing all the houses, that dense air entered my lungs; leaving them feel hollow and my head feeling light. I wasn't used to this feeling... The only time I had ever experienced something like this was when... **_

_**'Better not open up old wounds' I thought to myself before speeding up my pace. We weren't far from the mans small cottage, but it was still a little distance to travel since he lived at the end of the village. **_

_**"Kitsune, you're acting strange" I heard Higure say next to me, here voice filled with concern. I brushed of the subject by waving my hand at her slightly. "Do not worry about me, let us finish this mission. The quicker its done, the quicker we can get to our village" I said. **_

_**After a a few minutes we arrived at our targets home. We made sure we couldn't be seen or sensed, keeping our chakra down. **_

_**"I'll go in first" I told the others, earning protests from them. "Captain, rather let us enter first. We can check to make sure everything is clear for you and Hyo-san" I shook my head at them. **_

_**"No. I can't afford you or Hebi dying. I am going first and that is final" I said while walking closer to the building. **_

_**I looked around for a open window and was glad when I found one on the left side of the small home. I enetered as quietly as I could into the house, my nose scrunching up as a foul smell reached my nose. **_

_**Ignoring the smell, I make my way up the stairs, and into the room where a futon layed. **_

_**A red, bloodsoaked futon. **_

_**I gasp out at the brightness of the red against the small patches of white left and the wooden floors. **_

_**I look up at the ceiling to see the man that was supposed to be assassinated by me and my team, hanging there, a cut going up his wrists and a rope hanging him from a metal pole that stuck out the ceiling. **_

_**Suicide. **_

_**The man had comitted suicide. **_

_**Right underneath him, where blood seemed to be dripping, layed a small note, one that hadn't been touched by any blood. **_

_**I walked foreward and picked it up, reading over its contents. **_

_**"I have known of your presense since you entered this village. I know that you have been sent by Konoha, and I also know that there would be no escaping you. Having you take my life, a member of Konoha, is not the way I'd like to die. This is why you have probably found me in the state that I currently am in" **_

_**That was all it said. Naruto turned the note over and gasped yet again. **_

_**"A timed explosive tag?!"**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Normal POV<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Higure, Kimigaki and Hishi were tense as they waited outside. Naruto had just entered the house from a window, and according to Higure, who was a senser, he was already upstairs. <strong>_

_**It was silent, the sound of the wind being the only thing that could be heard. Of course the silence was broken by the sound of a screech and not even a minute later did an explosion errupt in front of them. **_

_**They were all pushed back by the shock wave that followed right after the first burst, landing either on their backs or face or on hard rocks and sticks. **_

_**Once they recovered from the shock, Higure got up, being the first to recover, and went to the other two, making sure they weren't injured. **_

_**"No, don't worry about us, our injuries are minor. Go to Naruto" Kimigaki said while getting up, clutching onto his side. **_

_**"Let's go, I'm still fine" Kishi said. Higure looked over at the sparrow masked man. "Susume... You're bone is sticking out" she said. It was obvious that he was the one to land on rocks and sticks. **_

_**"As long as its not fatel, than I can still move-"**_

_**"Oh shut up all of you" came a rough voice. They turned aaround to see Naruto standing there, half of his clothes burnt off and red patches on his skin. "We need to go, we'll stop once we're a fair distance away from the village. Let's go" **_

_**The others stared at the blonde in shock, though it was obviously hidden by their masks'**_

* * *

><p>Naruto looked next to him and at his three teammates. They were an hour or so away from their home village. Higure, Kimigaki and himself had already healed from the other day, but Kishi was still healing.<p>

Higure was a medic nin, since most teams actually had one, and had used her own strength and chakra to put the bone that had been protruding out his skin back in place. She than used his metal armor, that was on his fore arms, and wrapped them around his arm with normal bandages to keep the bone in place.

When they would finally arrive at the village, Kishi and Higure would go to the hospital while Naruto and Kimigaki went and gave a report.

**"Naruto-chan, they are tired. I know its only an hour away, but they need to rest" **Kuruma said in the blondes mind. _'Kura, I know that they need to rest. That explosion caught them off gaurd, as well as me... But we cannot stop. There will be no point in it. The sooner we get to the village, the sooner they can get treatment' _

**"You also need treatment, there is only so much that my chakra can do when it comes to healing your wounds" **

_'I know, Kura... But I have to give a report first thing... For now you healing me with your chakra will be fine. If I really need the help from a medic nin, I'll ask, kay?' _

**"Yeah, kid"**

* * *

><p>When they arrived in the cillage they all took their seperate routes, Naruto and Kimigaki went to the Hokage building while the other two rushed to the hospital.<p>

Naruto had forced himself, as well as Kimigaki, to get to the building quicker, wanting to just get the report over and done with so that he could go home and sleep.

"Captain... Did you see that messanger bird?" Kimi spoke for the first time since their arrival. Naruto looked at the male next to him, more like looked up since he was shorter.

Most of his teammates were taller than him, even Higure who was a female.

"I did, its a Suna messanger bird... One of their fastest. Something must be wrong. They must be decyphering the scroll now" Nartuo said, his voice bland and uninterested, hiding his true feelings.

'Is he alright?' He asked himself.

"Naruto?!" They heard a familiar female say. They both turned around and looked at the woman, who had a big smile on her face. "Sorry... I forgot I wasn't supposed to call your name while you're on duty..." The pink haired female said, her smile turning into a softer one.

"Sakura-chan" was all Naruto said before turning around and walking forward. "Sorry, I don't have time to catch up, we have to give in a report" he said, his voice ice.

"I'll go with you" the girl said. Naruto nodded his head

They three travelled their sort distance into the Hokage building, where they were sent straight into their leaders office.

"You may discard of the masks now. You are in your own building and I do believe that this was your last mission for the rest of the week" Tsunade, the leafs gambling Hokage, said after Naruto and Kimigaki explained their mission and the injuries everyone sustained during.

"Yes ma'am" both said before taking off their masks, revealing two young faces. Sakura, who was standing at her Hokage, as well as mentor, side, looked at both ales features.

They were both in their teens still, though Kimigaki was slightly older since he was eighteen and Naruto was sixteen. Both had blonde hair, with Naruto's being more spiky and bright and Kimigaki's being long and straight. Kimi had dark green eyes whereas Naruto had cerulean blue ones.

The height difference between them wasn't much, but it was a known fact that Naruto was shorter than most in the ANBU.

"You two look horrible" Tsunade said after a few minutes of silence. "Sakura, heal them" The blonde woman commanded. Sakura nodded her head before walking up to Naruto.

"Heal him first" Naruto said, pointing towards his teammate. "Kyuubi's chakra is healing me at the moment" he explained. Sakura shook her head. "You have always been the one to put others needs before your own" she said.

Naruto kept quiet and watched as the girl healed is friend/teammate. "You have always been the one to get in the way" Naruto said, surprising the pink haired kunoichi. "W-what?" she stuttered out.

Before Naruto could say anything the door burst open and in ran a frantic looking woman.

"Tsunade-sama!" the woman screamed, gaining the blonde Hokage's attention immediately.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked and the woman, after taking in a deep breath, answered her. "We received an emergency dispatch from the sand" she said as she handed over a page to the woman in front of her.

"I deciphered it as quickly as I could"

Tsunade looked over the contents of the page, her eyes widening at the contents. "T-this…!"

"What is it?" Naruto asked, stepping forward and taking the letter out of the woman's hand.

He read over the contents as quickly as he could, his own eyes widening at what was written on the page in a messy hand writing. 

-This is an emergency. The Kazekage, Gaara, has been captured by the Akatsuki. Suna needs your assistance in bring him back!-

'Gaara' he said in his mind before dropping the page and running out of the room, a sense of adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Naruto!?" he heard Sakura scream behind him but he ignored her.

'Gaara'

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><p><strong>So… that's done… its kinda late… I know… school is a total drag… I get packed with homework each day and the weekends is the only free time I have… but I might not be able to update for a while as I have test coming up as well as a few projects that need to be completed. <strong>

**But who knows, maybe I can squeeze in a few minutes of writing each day and maybe get a chapter in at the end of next week!**

**Anyway… I wanna thank those that reviewed for the last chapter, you helped inspire me! I hope you continue reviewing as those are my fuel to write****! **

**Bye! **


	7. Fading

**Well hello there! I was thinking about not letting Gaara 'die' and lose his tailed beast, but then I was like, nah, in doing so I'd have to make Naruto defeat both Deidare and Sasori and even though Naruto is strong, I don't want him to be overly powerful because that would just be boring. Also, Naruto's natural element is wind, but the two others that I've picked for him are water and lightning. Those two will not be as perfected as his wind nature. **

**There's also the touching problem that Naruto has, that's intentional. Its part of the story.**

**I realize that I forgot to mention that Naruto has also seen Suna. But I when I mentioned the other villages that he had seen, I meant ones he saw during his time as ANBU. **

**Anyway, read on. **

'**Biju talking' **_'Jinchuriki reply'_

"**Jutsu"**

"_**Dreams"**_

_**'Flashbacks'**_

**Crumbling **

**Chapter**** 6****: Fading**

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><p>'Gaara'<p>

That one word was Naruto's thoughts throughout his, quite unexpected, journey.

That one word would not leave his mind, and for reasons unknown, he didn't want it to. Gaara was his friend, despite the fact that the red head had almost killed him and a few Konoha shinobi.

Naruto had changed Gaara, he knew this, but Gaara, in a way, changed him too.

Gaara and him had faced the same childhood. Loneliness, hate, anger and disappointment amongst others. Gaara hated his village back for what they did to him, and so did Naruto. But the blonde realized that hating the village was not going to get the respect that he had so desperately needed.

The day he realized it was the day his innocence was stolen. He knew that he had to get strong. He had to gain their respect by protecting them, the one thing they refused to do for him.

Gaara on the other hand decided that he would prove his worth, defile his village. He chose the wrong path and Naruto was the one that kicked his skinny ass out of it and onto the right one.

Of course, while kicking him the red head had taught him something in return.

"To hate is to love and to love is to hate"

Naruto partially understood what the red head had been saying, but being a twelve year old that hadn't really experienced anything close to love made you quite confused.

He understood now though. Love breeds hate and hate breeds love. It was almost like a paradox.

Either way there would be love and hate.

It was a sad reality that all had to live in.

**"Kit, your movements are sloppy" **Naruto heard Kuruma say deep within. Naruto didn't answer the fox. He knew that he was telling the truth his movements were sluggish. He blamed it on not resting from his previous mission, and jumping into a new one, which hadn't really been assigned to him in the first place.

He didn't care though. His friend was in danger, and he'd be damned if he let a few stumbles stop him from saving his friend.

You could call it determination and pure stubbornness.

He knew that he could make it to Suna in at least twelve hours, he has so before. Although, back then he had been much younger and not as fast as he was now.

Twelve hours was actually quite long. But he had to add his sluggish-ness into the mix and calculate the time of his travel correctly. Twelve hours was not the final number. He could arrive before or after that mark. He didn't know.

All he knew was that he needed to get there and he needed to get there fast.

'Gaara'

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><p>With ze Gaara's thoughts (I felt like adding in some Gaara just like the professor added in chemical X -and we all know it wasn't an accident!- to create the powerpuff girls)<p>

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><p>Being able to differentiate between the pain of a fatal wound and the pain of a mental wound was almost as easy as telling a lion apart from a kitten.<p>

Not that there were any lions in the ninja world.

There were giant cats though. No at. And it was a ninja one as well.

What was she trying to start? A ninja family that trained cats to fight? Was she mad?

**"You're in the midst of dying...and all you can think of is that stupid cat that your sister brought home" **he heard a voice echo around him.

He knew that voice all too well.

_'I'm not giving you control, Shukaku' _he said, not registering the words the beast had said. **"You little brat! Can you not tell what is going on around you? Do you not know that you are dying?" **

He did know, but he was trying to avoid thinking about it, hence the distracted thinking.

Where was he anyway? Oh, right. Differentiation between the pain of physical wounds and the pain of emotional/mental wounds.

**"Oi, are you going to ignore me!" **Shukaku raged, but Gaara blocked out his angered shouts and decided that, in his last moments, he didn't want to have to focus on the raccoon dog.

He went back to his previous thoughts.

He was able to tell both apart, physical and emotional wounds that is. Well, he was sort of able to tell them apart. Having his protective sand block all harm that came his way kind of prevented him from really feeling anything.

But there were times when people were able to get past the sand and actually inflict pain. Like that Uchiha kid that struck him with his chidori. And that kid that beat his sand by pure determination and speed.

Then there was Naruto. The one that pulled his head out of his ass and made him realize that the path he had chosen was not the right one.

He hadn't thought that a little brat like Naruto would have been able to accomplish anything. He had thought the blonde was nothing more than a dog that was all bark and no bite

In the end he was taught a lesson. Not to mess with the blonde, and certainly not to judge him before he had the chance to really know him.

But that was Gaara for you back then. He'd analyzed people from their outer appearances rather than from their inner.

Though, if you thought of it in a literal sense, he would quickly judge their inners as being nasty. After all, he had seen a lot of people 'inner selves'. Thinking about it now made him wonder why he had took sadistic pleasure at the bloody mush all over his sand.

He then realized that as a kid he was seriously fucked up by his uncle and the rest of his village.

But again, that wasn't what the topic was about.

Let's start with the physical wounds. The pain from a physical blow was quite something, especially when you get caught off guard. That's when it hurts the most. At least that's what he deducted from the multiple times he caught people off guard.

Physical pain was supposed to be considered the worst type of pain but Gaara knew that that wasn't , and never would be, true.

The emotional wounds were the ones that hurt the most due to the fact that they never went away, even though it's said that they heal over time.

They don't heal, you just get used to the ache and become so numb that you don't even realize that the pain is there anymore. Gaara has had this pain for his whole life. He know that feeling all to well.

That ache in your heart that hurts worse than any physical wound.

Yes. He knew that feeling quite well.

Of course, when you mix those two feelings, it creates something so toxic, it made him want to throw up.

At the current moment those two things were mixing.

He was dying. His beast was being taken away from him. He didn't want that. He didn't want to die. It was painful, even though he wasn't being physically harmed.

His body could still feel the pain though, be it imaginable, be it real. He could feel it. That feeling of being stabbed by multiple kunai and shuriken. That feeling of something leaving his body.

And then there was the mental and emotional pain.

He felt useless. He couldn't even protect his own tailed beast. He knew that he shouldn't really be caring about Shukaku, but when you have the beast stuck in you for almost seventeen years, you get used to it and accept it no matted how hard you try not to.

So he felt like he let the one tails down. Like he wasn't worthy. After all, he wasn't only supposed to be a weapon for his father, he was supposed to protect Shukaku as well, something he failed to do.

He had rather saved the village that had caused him so much pain as a child, the village that had never trusted him, the village that never accepted him, the village that he desperately tried to gain respect and acknowledgment from, and once he finally did, it was all swooped away from him with in moments.

He wondered if protecting the village was the right thing in the end.

He supposed it was the right thing. He loved the village and wanted to protect it, that was the reason he became the Kazekage, to protect them and gain their respect. Though he guessed he was probably a joke now. Being taken captive by a stupid akatsuki member that was far too cocky for his own good.

He supposed that he was also a hero. But he didn't feel like one.

**"Gaara... You are making this more depressing than it should be" **he heard the one tails say. **"As far as I'm concerned, you have hated me since for most of your exsistance, so why start feeling like this. Why die thinking you were a failure to me?" **

_'Shukaku... That isn't how I feel... I'll admit that at first I hated you more than anything. But I couldn't blame you. You didn't ask to be in me... So I couldn't help but start to like you. No matter how much I would have liked to deny it, you have always been there, picking me up when I fail, even though you didn't want to. I don't hate you Shukaku. You are almost like family" _

He waited for a answer. He didn't know how long he waited, but he waited. He wanted to hear what the one tails would say to his confession. Wanted to hear him tell Gaara to stop talking rubbish and to pick himself up.

But that reply never came. He wondered if Shukaku had actually heard him. I wondered if the raccoon dog was deemed speechless.

But he knew that wasn't the case. Shukaku was gone. He knew because he felt a sense of loneliness. That feeling of utter cold, rushing up and down your spine.

He then felt himself falling, a rush of air rushing through his system. It was almost like the air he got in his chest each time he jumped off his sand that was so refreshing, except this one wasn't exactly like that. It wasn't refreshing. It was cold and unwanted.

He knew that Shukaku was gone for real this time and he was left alone. Dying. No. He was already on the verge of death. There wasn't even room to be dying for him.

_"Gaara!?" _

He could hear his name being called. At least he though that was his name.

He couldn't remember his name.

His memories were fading. They were slowly being plucked from his brain. One, by one.

Who was he? He didn't remember anymore.

_"Gaara!?" _

There was that name again, being screamed,screeched, cried. The person yelling sounded so familiar.

Something, a name, stuck to his tongue. He didn't know who the name belonged to nor did he know the person behind the name. All he knew was that this name wouldn't leave him. Even as he breathed his last breath.

"N-naruto"

_"Gaara"_

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><p>With ze blonde named Naruto<p>

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><p>"Gaara" he said with tears rushing down his cheeks. "This isn't fair... Why? Why? Why hadn't I gotten to you sooner? If I had you'd still be alive..." The blonde sulked as he held onto the lifeless body that was Gaara.<p>

"Naruto..." Came the voice of Sakura, trying to calm the blonde down, something he was having none of.

"Don't... Don't Naruto me... Don't tell me not to blame myself... Just don't... You don't know what it feels like... You don't know what he felt like... You don't know the hardship that came with being a Jinchuriki.

"You don't know the loneliness that he had to face, the pain he felt. You don't know anything. You don't know how hard he tried to get the respect of his village, how much he sacrificed, how he changed. You don't know anything... None of you do.

"You don't know what pain we've felt and you never will know." The blonde said, salty tears staining his cheeks and his eyes bloodshot from crying. "He changed for the one village that caused him so much pain... The village that turned him into a jinchuriki. They'd caused him all this pain, and yet, none would even go out and save him. Deeming him dead. You make me sick" he spat out.

He knew he was being really rude and that he was probably making things worse than what they already were, but there were some things that he just couldn't keep in. Not when his first friend was lying dead in his arms.

"Kid..." He heard the old woman, Chiyo, speak up, her voice filled with determination. "I can help" she said. "I can bring him back"

At the words Naruto looked up, his featured lighting with hope. "Really?" He asked to which Chiyo nodded her head. "If he could try to save our village than I can try and save him" she said before kneeling down in front of the red head and placing both of her hands on top of him, a green orb lighting underneath her palms.

Naruto saw the green light flicker.

She didn't have enough chakra.

"Here" he said, giving her his hands, offering his chakra. "Lay your palms flat on mine, child" she instructed. The blonde did as told, lending her his chakra.

He knew what the woman was doing. He knew full well, but a part of him suppressed that knowledge. He didn't want to accept it. Not yet.

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><p><strong>And that's where I'm ending it off. Things will continue in the next chapter. Gaara will obviously be alive, and Naruto will be looking after him and you'll find out in the next chapter! Review and tell me what you think it will be about! I need those reviews. <strong>

**Reviews are on of the main sources of inspiration ya know! So review! Tell me ho you felt about this chapter, drop in a few ideas of your own. **

**I have a competition for you guys! Here it is: **

**Whoever writes the best information about their own character, background, appearance, abilities, etc. Your character will be put in here. Reason being is that I need another OC but I'm too lazy to make my own one. **

**Its okay if you don't. I'll just have to force my friends into making me an oc.(Insert evil laugh here) **

**Anyway... BYE! **

**Review! **

**Pet potatoes! **


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